Tech Tip Tuesday: February 18, 2014

The beginning of a new year always brings with it new marketing plans, budgets and a revitalized excitement about the opportunities that await any business. If you are in charge of marketing at your company, the potential could actually be overwhelming. Luckily, we have some suggestions to help you grow your brand and online following in 2014. Here are 5 online marketing resolutions to adopt today:

1. Amp Up Your Content Marketing

Look for 2014 to be another year for companies to amp up their marketing. The take-away of this statement is that marketers need the time and tools to produce unique content to tell a story that personifies the company. For all the small companies who have to earn their way to consumers’ news feeds, it is essential for content to have a captivating sound. Large corporations have the resources to hit a steady rhythm by always churning out content multiple times a day. That said, it is not important to keep up with the Jones’ on that metric alone because only 9% of B2B and 7% of B2C companies think their content strategy is “very effective.” Amping up the uniqueness of content will ensure a steady growth in social media following.

2. Make Mobile a Priority

Optimizing content for mobile use is more important than ever before. Looking at the steady trend of mobile devises by 2017 87% of all connected devices will be smartphones and tablets. The first thing to hammer out is a responsive websites design so that the web page is optimized to be viewed on every device. Next in line is a clean and simple user interface to help keep people on your page. Mobile users expect to find answers quickly and easily because they are always on the go. If you make the navigation to their answer easy, they will come back.

3. Spread Your Social Media Wings

Experimenting with social media will be critical in 2014 now that the two social giants, Twitter and Facebook, are “pay to play” and a post will only stay on news feeds for a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Take time to experiment with other networks like Pinterest, Instagram and Tumbler. All of these sites are growing at warp speed and you have the ability to connect with followers through creative, personable campaigns. Google Plus is another network that is slated to improve their standings in the social media world this year. Finding the appropriate niche on Google Plus can be hard, but the benefits of higher search engine results will always help.

4. Say It With Images

The Power of images and videos is astonishing for online marketers. In fact, the web is shifting all attention to a visual landscape. For example, images on Facebook get more likes, comments and shares than any other form of communication. In addition, Google has changed its search results to promote images above text-based results. In fact, the love consumers have for visual eye-candy is likely why you clicked to view this infographic.

5. Keep It Simple

If there is one thing that will hold peoples’ attention this year, it’s a simple message. Do not over complicate the content. Companies that simplified the purchasing decision (meaning took out industry jargon) were 86% more likely to convert customers.